Logan (Chosen Champions #1) - Macy Blake Page 0,84
training with Gideon. He’d learned a lot and planned on using those tricks now.
Gideon would accept his orders, but he’d brood about it. Logan wanted the emotions handled before he let Gideon out the door. “I don’t like this,” Gideon added after another volley of hits and kicks passed between them.
“Give me a better idea.”
Logan faked a kick, then spun for a jab at Gideon’s ribs. Gideon knocked his fist aside and swept his feet out from under him. Logan landed on the pads with a thud and had Gideon’s knee on his chest a second later. “I don’t have one.”
“Then take the night off. Recharge. Meditate. Do whatever it is you do when you’re not here. Because tomorrow, we hunt.”
Gideon stared down at him, his breathing deep and steady. Logan could see the turmoil in his eyes, though.
He waited.
“For Bailey.” Gideon rose and reached out his hand to help Logan up.
Logan nodded and accepted the gesture. “For Bailey.”
Gideon left the warehouse without another word. The rest of his team moved in as they watched him go.
“Did we have to send him away?” Scout asked.
“He can’t focus when Taj is around. Their attention would be split, and I don’t want Taj distracted. Aleron, did you reach out to him?”
“Yeah. He has that burner phone I gave him before he left last time. Still don’t know why he refuses to have a cell of his own in this day and age, but whatever. He’s going to meet us here in an hour.”
He turned to Dasan next. “Did you get copies of the police reports?”
“They’re upstairs.”
“Jamal didn’t balk at giving them to us?”
“No. He’s as frustrated as we are. We’ve got photos and all the files on each of the cases.”
“Good.”
The team spent the next several hours with Aleron’s incubus friend. Logan had trouble getting a solid read on him, but at least as far as the case was concerned, Taj seemed to be giving them everything he could to help.
After hearing Taj’s explanations on how incubi restore their energy—Taj refused to call it feeding—Logan began to wonder if they weren’t after an incubus at all. But Taj had the same overly sweet smell that had been at the bar that night. Logan’s nose hadn’t lied to him yet, even if the violence associated with the attacks didn’t match the typical incubus MO.
“He’ll have found another source of energy since the attack on Bailey,” Taj said. “If he was interrupted, he’ll have wanted to… finish. I’d check some of the, um, other establishments.”
Logan scowled. “What do you mean by that?”
“Pretty sure he means the brothels,” Aleron said.
“That’s a thing?” Scout asked.
“Not for wolves,” Taj said. “Wolves have packs. You don’t have… other needs like some of us do.”
“Other… Why do I feel like I’m missing something?”
None of his pack seemed to have answers. Before he could get more info, Bailey knocked on the door. He poked his head in a second later and held out one of the phones they kept in the office. “This is ringing? I wasn’t sure I should answer. I’m going to the apartment for a shower.”
Logan nodded and took the phone. It was an unknown number, and he almost ignored it. But his skin prickled, and his wolf stood at attention.
“Hello?”
“Um. Hi,” said a whispered voice on the other end of the line.
“Who is this?”
“Gideon is hurt. He told me to call Logan.”
“Where is he?”
“Shit. I’ve gotta go. I’ll send the address, but hurry.”
The call ended, but a second later, a message appeared.
“What’s wrong?” Bailey asked.
“This feels like a trap,” Aleron said. “You get that, right? Why would Gideon have used the number of one of our work phones for this? He has your number on his personal cell.”
“I don’t know.”
“He’s hurt?” Taj moved closer, his sweet scent turning sour with fear. He glanced at the address on the phone and blanched.
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s at one of the brothels.”
“What? Why the hell—”
“Blood,” Taj said. “Where do you think he goes to feed? He’s not with his clan, and I don’t think any of you are feeding him. He didn’t smell… like you.”